Turia Pitt reveals the difficult truth about being a first-time parent

Turia Pitt welcomed her first baby into the world in December and the new mum has experienced every kind of emotion since.

There have been the expected and welcomed exhilarating highs, but also the devastating and not-so-comfortable lows.

But like so many new mamas, the burns survivor, athlete, engineer and author is not going to let anything get her down for too long.

The 30-year-old, who is is engaged to her long-time partner Michael Hoskin, is, for the most part, revelling in the sheer joy that is baby son Hakavai. However, she's also more than happy to admit that having a brand new baby is challenging.

Parenting is hard, shares Turia Pitt. Image: Instagram/@Turiapitt

The motivational speaker shared exactly that to her Instagram account earlier today.

"Parenting is hard," she wrote.

"I’ve got a baby that sleeps, a supportive partner, parents and in-laws on speed dial, heaps of mates who’ve had babies and I’m still finding it really challenging and exhausting. To all the parents out there, you’re all legends, and you’re all doing a good job!"

She added a light-hearted explanation as to why she was wearing decorative kitten ears on her head.

"PS: Not wearing these ears because I’m frivolous but because I couldn’t find any hair elastics."

Her post was liked more 50,000 times and thousands of followers commented too, the vast majority agreeing with her and offering encouragement.

"It is so bloody hard! Then when they smile, hug, kiss, starting saying mum dad or I love you it is worth every hard moment," shared one.

Another encouraged Turia, saying, 'Yes your right darling. Parenting is the hardest job you will ever do and it doesn’t get any easier even when they are grown adults like my 5 grown up baby’s all you can do is your best.. eat sleep shower when you can don’t worry about the small stuff and don’t be scared to ask for help ... with anything!"

Another agreed motherhood is tough and complimented Turia on how well she was doing.

"My baby is about to be 18 and I still remember how hard it is when they are little," she wrote.

"Be kind to yourself. You are rocking motherhood x"

It's not the first time Turia has shared her struggles via social media.

When her baby boy was just one week old, Turia shared that she found breastfeeding challenging.

Rather than get disheartened, however, she decided to take a realistic outlook on the situation.

"I realised it was the first time I’d ever breastfed and it was Hakavai’s first time too and the first time you try anything new you’re not going to be an expert at it!" she wrote.

"We’re not experts (yet) but we’re definitely getting the hang of it."

Countless Instagram fans responded to the post, reassuring the new mum that breastfeeding isn't always easy.

"It’s so hard!!! And painful! We struggled for 3 or so weeks then slowly got the hang of it," one wrote.

WATCH: Turia and Michael learn the sex of their baby.

"Breastfeeding is HARD. I found the biggest help to be talking with friends about their struggles with nursing," another added.

Ever the optimist, Turia pointed out there have been some definite, um, upsides to life as a nursing mum.

"There’s a couple of major perks to breastfeeding," she captioned her photo. And yes, those two 'perks' are exactly what you think they are.

The Unmasked author has been with her fiance Michael since 2009.

The couple first shared their baby news in an interview with Channel Nine’s 60 Minutes in June, and two months later announced they were expecting a boy in a 'gender reveal' video posted on social media.

Turia learned she was pregnant with Hakavai just days before she was due to fly to Nepal for a trek to Everest Base Camp.